Becky Ramotowski: Mercury and Saturn make appearances this week
Published 5:53 pm, Monday, July 25, 2011
The last week of July brings us some cool sights - and everyone would probably agree that we need something to cool us off since temperatures have been blistering.
Mercury makes appearances this week low in the west after sunset.
It sets in the west around 10 p.m., so there's several to search for it after the sun has retired for the day.
Mercury is easy to spot using binoculars. Just aim west and then slowly sweep back and forth above the western horizon until it pops into view as a golden orange "star."
Saturn is an easy catch high in the southwest after sunset too. It's visible with the naked eye as a yellow starlike point of light.
Saturn sits beside the bright star Porrima in the constellation Virgo. Views of Saturn with a telescope will give you tingles of excitement.
The Milky Way is another easy-to-spy spectacle, but you really need a dark rural sky to enjoy the high definition of its beauty.
To see it streaming up from the southern horizon and then arcing across the sky overhead is something to marvel at.
It seems simple enough to just lazily follow its meanderings with the naked eye or binoculars. But the complexity of its form, with its twisting, turning and multilayered star fields is a reminder that it is more than just a bunch of stars randomly hanging out in space.
There are countless satellites that orbit Earth, and you should be able to pick out a few while out admiring the night sky.
One in particular to watch for is a Hubble Space Telescope pass at 9:06 p.m. Tuesday night.
Just gaze toward the west and watch for a moving speck of light. At 9:09 p.m., the Hubble will fly just below Saturn and then continue toward the head of Scorpius in the south. The space telescope will continue on a path that takes it across the Milky Way and over the top of the teapot shape of Sagittarius. It fades from sight in the southeast at 9:13 p.m.
If you would like to search for a few more satellites, go to heavens-above.com or a site like calsky.com.
For a challenge, try finding Comet P/2007 R5 SOHO. It's a dim little speck of light in the constellation Corvus in the southwest after sundown. You'll need a telescope and a good star chart to locate this dusty ice ball, but the payoff is a sense of accomplishment and pride.
For a handy finder map go to heavens-above.com and click on the name of the comet under the astronomy heading.
E-mail Becky Ramotowski at email@example.com. Skywatch appears Tuesdays.